Anniversary
by K3IR
Summary: No call, no text, no email. After disappearing for a week, Mal shows up battered and bruised on Natara's doorstep. During that week, he also happens to have missed their one year anniversary... Maltara.
1. Chapter 1

**Yay for a brief little no writers block moment! That is honestly my only excuse for not posting anything in days, weeks, months, years. Anyways, read and review!**

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She opens the door to her battered and broken partner. Busted lip and small scratches mar his cheeks and neck, deeper and longer cuts mostly hidden by an old football shirt and fitted jeans.

"Aren't you going to ask where I was?" he smiles sheepishly at her, not bothering with pleasantries.

"You were undercover, that's all I need to know." She replies; opening the door wider, stepping to the side and letting him walk past her.

"I missed our one year anniversary." He mumbles, suddenly finding his feet fascinating.

"I know. I was at the restaurant for two hours before I gave up on you." Slamming the door shut, she walks down the hall and into the bathroom, grabbing the first aid kit.

"Nat, I'm sorry."

"I know." She says gently, dejectedly, "sit down."

"Nat…"

"Shh." She stands between his legs, bringing down the damp antiseptic soaked cloth on a deep cut just below his jaw.

"Have you briefed Anders yet?" she's avoiding his eyes.

"No, I came straight here from the airport." He informs her.

"You should probably go and see him, and then maybe a hospital, my medical skills leave a lot to be desired."

"You're doing fine." He reassures her.

She finishes cleaning his face, putting a couple of butterfly bandages on the cut under his jaw, moving over to the freezer to get an ice-pack.

"You're really not curious as to what happened?" he probes as she comes to stand in between his legs again.

"You're alive, I don't really think I have enough energy to care about anything else." she's still not meeting his eyes.

He opens his mouth to talk again, but interrupted by her thumb and forefinger catching his chin and pushing upwards, angling his head up and shutting his mouth; he cringes from the cold of the ice she unceremoniously places on his lower busted lip, "I'm sure if Anders wanted me to know; he would have read me in."

He wraps his hand around the wrist that's holding the ice-pack, pulling it down and away from his mouth, "I'm really sorry Nat."

"You already apologized."

"Nat –"

"Stop." The argument sitting on his tongue is silenced as she places the ice-pack back onto his lip, dismissing further conversation.

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He's taking his shirt off, ready to get into the shower when she stops him, "has your back been bothering you?"

"A bit, why?" his eyebrows are knitted together in confusion.

"You have shards of glass in there."

He groans, going to stand in front of the mirror, he twists and turns until he gets a decent angle to look at his back. She's right, inside little cuts and scrapes sits tiny shards of glass, glinting off the overhead light, laughing at him, mocking him.

She reaches in the shower to turn it off, moving to the bath, she starts running the water, standing up straighter and meeting his quizzical look.

"The showers going to do more damage than good, at least I can get the glass out if you take a bath."

He doesn't say anything, just nods and waits by the side of the bath like a child.

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He's determined to not make a scene as he sinks down into the warm water, but he can't help but hiss out as the pain shoots through his lower back. He stops and cringes, about to lift himself back out of the bath before a warm hand pushes down on his shoulder.

"They need to come out Mal, either I do it, or we drive a half hour to the nearest hospital and wait in triage for 3 hours before they even think about admitting you."

He sinks himself back into the water, tears stinging the backs of his eyes as the water sloshes and hits his fragile skin, "just get it over with."

He's sitting in the middle of the bath, his right leg drawn up so he can rest his forehead on it, thinking of everything and anything else but Natara trying as best as she can to gently pour water down his back.

His breath shudders when she finally produces tweezers and gets to work at pulling all the glass she can find. He feels the cold metallic object dig into his back, pulling out one glass piece at a time.

This is going to be a long night.

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"I think I got all of it." She finally announces an hour and a half later, running a wet face washer down his back, listening for any hitch in his breath to indicate that she had missed anything.

"You think?"

"Well can you feel anything left?"

"… No."

"Well than I got everything." She runs the face washer over his back a few more times, the warm water now comforting his skin instead of torturing it.

His eyes start drooping, his position hasn't changed in the last hour and a half, his forehead still resting on his knee, he's positive, once he removes his head from its resting place, he's going to have a large red spot in the centre of his forehead, not that he's going to care.

His breathing's evened out by the time she stops running the face washer over him, she wrings the face washer out and drapes it over the side of the tub before resting a hand on the side of his face, angling his head up to look at her; for the first time since opening the door, she meets his eyes, and all he wants to do is curl up and cry at the hurt and worry he sees there.

"Nat…" He's cut off again, her eyes narrow, glaring at him.

"If you try to apologize again, I'll stab you in the eye with the tweezers."

"Noted…"

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He's stomach down on the bed, his back still having a dull ache. His head rests on her stomach, left arm lying possessively across her waist as she runs her fingers through his hair.

"You could have warned me in advanced, called or text, just telling me that you weren't going to show up instead of letting me sit there." Her quiet voice breaks the semi-comfortable silence.

"I thought I was going to make it back, by the time I realised I wasn't, it was too late, I didn't have my phone and I was being shot at from every direction." He feels her hand tense in his hair; she tries to cover it up, continuing her ministrations as if it hadn't happen.

"You were gone almost a week." She states.

"I didn't expect to be gone that long."

"You were gone almost a week, no phone call, no email, Amy couldn't even locate you, hell, Mal, after day four I didn't really expect you to come home at all." She's stopped the movements of her hands, now they're just resting idly on his head.

"Natara…"

"Don't."

"You don't even know –"

"You're going to try and apologize, again. For something you had no control over. What's done is done; you're back. It's over." She lets out a shaky breath, his head dipping down with her stomach as she continues to run her fingers through his hair.

He lifts his head from her stomach, turning so he's facing her now. She's not looking at him, her eyes focused on the ceiling, her right arm behind her head and her left arm falling from his hair, dropping onto her stomach. Realizing she isn't going to look at him any time soon, he crawls up the length of her body, his left arm now supporting most of his weight as he looms over her. She still manages not to look him in the eyes.

Bringing his mouth down, resting his head just next to her ear, he whisper, just barely audible, "happy one year anniversary, Nat."

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**Oh, would you look at that pretty little 'review' button down there? Hm… ;)**

**(I don't think this needs to be continued, but if you want a two parter to see what happens next, then I'll try my very, very best to write one)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Internet hugs for everyone! You're all so adorable and sweet! Sorry I haven't had enough time to reply to your reviews, but thank you! And they're all appreciated! **

**I'm not sure about this chapter, but I'm thinking about making this into a longer chapter story, I dunno, we'll see how it plays out.  
As I said before, I'm not too sure about this one, I don't think it's as good as the other one, but I said I would write another chapter, and so I did!**

**The start of this takes place straight after the other chapter finished.**

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When he lifts his head back up to look at her, she's still determined not to look at him. He can see the tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, her jaws locked, but the tiny quiver of her bottom lip gives her away. He places butterfly kisses on the spot in front of her ear, her jaw, her cheek and finally her lips. She kisses him back with all the gentleness of a drunken mosh-pit, it's chaotic and feverish, her hand yanking on the small hairs on the back of his head, his hand skimming down her side until it comes into contact with her exposed midriff, teeth scraping, tongues tangling.

He's running his hand back up and underneath her shirt when her mobile on the nightstand goes off, "leave it" he mumbles into her neck.

She ignores him, extending her arm out to get the phone, "Williams." her voice gives the impression that she's just raced three blocks to apprehend a suspect.

"Is Fallon with you?" the booming voice of their boss sounds from the line, causing Mal's head to shoot up, her eyes are panicked as she looks at him; he just shakes his head violently.

"Uh, who may I ask is c-_AL_-ling?" his lips are back on her neck, soothing over the bite he just gave her, shoulders shaking from silent laughter.

"You know damn well who it is, is Fallon with you or not?" Anders yells into the phone.

"Will you hold on for just a moment, please?" she smiles sweetly into the phone. She can hear his protests before she covers up the speakers, "I think you're in trouble…"

"For doing what, my job?" he looks down at her.

"I don't know! But he's pissed, and he wants to talk to you." She shoves the phone into his chest and he lets out a small yelp.

"Fine." Snatching the stupid piece of technology out of her grasp, he growls into the phone, "Fallon."

"You were supposed to brief me as soon as you got back."

"Suspect should be on the way to the precinct as we speak, three dead, officer in the ICU, and you can be the one to explain to his wife and kids why he probably won't be home for dinner." He barks into the phone, ignoring Natara's wide eyes, "the report will be on your desk first thing Thursday." He presses 'end call' and drops the phone back onto the nightstand.

Not much is said after that, he falls back onto the pillow next to hers, kissing her temple, she presses her back into his bare chest and he holds her for the rest of the night.

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She's not one hundred per cent sure what woke her up first, the light streaming through the open blinds, or the dainty kisses being pressed against the mangled remains of her shoulder, squeezing her eyes tight from memories that she seems to have suppressed for what feels like a lifetime.

"Does it still hurt sometimes?" he murmurs against her flesh.

"No, nerve endings are dead." She utters into her pillow.

"You never told me what happened."

"You never asked." She retorts.

He lets out a defeated breathe, head falling back onto the pillow behind hers, arms tightening around her.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready?" she asks, rolling over in his embrace to look at him.

"For what?"

"Work"

"I thought I'd stay here for the day, let you play doctor some more." He grins at her.

She rolls her eyes at him, sitting upright, pushing his shoulder so he rolls over onto his stomach.

"I like where this is going," he chuckles into the pillow.

"Oh, shut up." She warns, looking down at the scrapes and cuts all over his back, "you might have scars, I wouldn't know much of anything else, considering I'm not a doctor," tantalizing fingers flutter over his bare skin, gooseflesh erupting on his back, "if you won't go to the hospital, will you at least let Kai check it out?"

"No," he says firmly, "if I go into the precinct today, Anders is going to expect me to sit down and file a report about what happened, I can't do that, not today. And I'm not taking my shirt off in front of that little pervert; I don't care how bad it is."

"Mal-"

He exhales, rolling over and sitting up, swinging his legs off the bed and walking towards the bathroom, "I'm taking a shower."

She doesn't get the chance to argue, before the door slams and she's left alone in a large empty bed.

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**I'm really sorry that this chapter is so short! D:**

**I promise that if you like this chapter, I'll make it up to you in the next one! **

**Remember that cute little 'review' button down there ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**I deleted the previous chapter three, I don't even know what was going through my mind when I had written it, let-a-lone posted it, I can't even begin to explain myself, I just can't even, unable to even. The ability to even right now has just gone.**

**Please accept a new chapter three, and a quicker update for chapter four, chapter four will probably be the last chapter. **

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"Shirt off, Maligator!" Kai hollers joyfully, walking into the lab with some gauze, tweezers and cream.

"I cannot _believe_ you talked me into this." Mal mumbles ominously.

"The other option involved chloroform and a two hour drive to the hospital." She grins at him, starting to undo the buttons on his shirt.

He's about to reply, but she shuts him up with a glare and a tug on his collar, undoing the last of his buttons and gently peeling the offending item off of him.

"Yikes, that looks painful." Kai observes, standing behind Mal, prodding his back with a gloved finger.

"It is, so if you could just hurry up and take a look at it so I can leave, that would be great." He growls, wincing as Kai pokes him in the back once more.

Natara stands between his legs, holding his head against her as his breath comes out in shallow huffs, it takes him almost ten minutes to get his breathing under control and the stinging behind his eyes to subside, by that time, Kai's strapping gauze to his back.

"Luckily it isn't infected, but there will be some scarring, change the gauze and wash your back every twelve hours, I'd probably recommend the bath instead of a shower, and in a couple of weeks, you should be as good as new." Kai smiles, handing Natara the cream and some spare gauze.

Mal mumbles a thank you, pulling his shirt back on and doing up the buttons as he leaves the room.

"Nat…" Kai calls out after her, the nickname makes her stop, the sincerity of his voice scaring her just a bit, when she turns around to look at him, his facial expressions almost knock her back.

"Yeah Kai?" she addresses his softly.

"Take care of him for us?" he sounds like a child giving a vet his dying animal.

She gives him a single nod and a soft smile, before leaving the lab and walking out into the squad room.

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They're sprawled out across the couch; his feet on the table and her head in his lap, looking up at him, his fingers running through her hair absentmindedly.

"Where'd you go?" she asks softly, grabbing his hand to still the movements in her hair.

He stays quiet, looking at the wall in front of him.

She knows she isn't going to get an answer out of him tonight.

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"Mexico." He mutters.

Two hours later, they're in the bathroom, running water over his back, washing away the cream Kai had rubbed there earlier.

"Excuse me?"

"I was in Mexico." He starts, now that he's opened his mouth, he can't stop the words from coming, "I was sitting in their squad room, helping them work a case, when a man walks in, just, out of nowhere, walks in and starts shooting. The officer that I was working with, he took two through his back, one was a flesh wound, and the other lodged in his spine. Another officer led me out a back door that opened up to the parking lot, told me to take his car and get on the earliest flight out of there. It wasn't until Anders called and told me that one of the cartels found out that an American officer was working with the local Federales, did I realise that the station was shot up, because I was there."

"Mal-"

"The cartel thug's dead, the officer that was wounded is in a coma, eventually though, when he does wake up, he'll probably never be able to walk again, because I was there, because _he _was standing next to _me_." He finally looks at her, the tears he's been trying to keep at bay now threaten to spill down his cheeks.

She doesn't know what to tell him, she'd probably hit anyone who told her 'it's okay' in a situation like this, and 'it's not your fault' won't work either, so she reaches over the edge of the tub, her left hand coming around his bare back, her right hand directing his head to her shoulder, both his hands cling to her right arm as he finally lets the silent tears fall.

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**I really don't like this chapter either, but I think it's a hell of a lot better than the last one.**

**Once again, I apologise for that chapter. **

**I don't have any cookies at the moment, how about cake? Everyone likes cake. Cake for reviews! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Guys, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not happy with a lot of things at the moment. It's been a month since season 10 of NCIS ended, and I was okay at first, I could go about my daily life, but they start shooting season 11 soon and there's been no word on Cote de Pablo renewing her contract. I'M FREAKIN OUT MAN! I'M FREAKIN OUT!**

**And another thing, I've never liked Reed Harrow, I don't like Reed Harrow now, and I certainly don't think I'd ever like Reed Harrow in the future, if he doesn't turn out to be a bad guy, I don't care, I probably still won't like him, if he has an emotionally scarring back story, I'll take pity on him, I still won't like him, but that doesn't mean I can't feel sorry for him. But holy crap, I hope he turns out to be a bad guy; I don't think you understand how much I want him to be a bad guy… But I do want Boone back. He was Kai's other half. LET KAI BE HAPPY!**

**I'm not happy with Jeremy either, but since most of you seem to be shipping Amy and Jeremy, and I do agree they are cute together, I still won't go into that topic of conversation.**

**Now that I've complained to you all, here's the final chapter of 'Anniversary'.**

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"'Ou 'ure you gonna be okay here fer tha day?" she asks, mouth full of toothpaste.

"I'm sorry, _what?_" his eyebrows reach his hairline.

She spits into the sink, looking at his face in the reflection of the mirror, she huffs, "_I said, _you sure you're going to be okay here for the day?" she wipes the remaining toothpaste on her towel.

"Nat, contrary to popular belief, I am a big boy now, I can take care of myself," he smiles as her nose crinkles in distaste, "come on, get outa here, catch a bad guy, save the day and all that crap." She gives him a peck, turning around to grab her bag; she stops short when his hand catches her upper arm, whirling her around so he can give her a proper kiss.

Her legs buckle as his tongue grazes her bottom lip; she drops her bag, leaving it forgotten on the floor as she brings her hands up to his chest, balling fists into the front of his sweat shirt. One of his hands travels down her body, gripping her waste and drawing her closer, the other travels into her hair, keeping her head in place as their mouths fight for dominance.

"Mal," she murmurs against his mouth.

"Mmm?"

"Mal, I've really gotta go," she moans as his lips travel down her neck, she rests her hand on the back of his head, lacing her fingers through his short hairs.

"Mhmm." He mumbles.

She smiles when he whimpers as she pulls away, giving him another quick kiss, – making sure to pull away faster this time – picks up her car keys and walks out the door, making sure to blow him a kiss on her way out.

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_Okay,_ he thinks rushing around the apartment; _I have about five hours to get everything ready… That should be enough time. Alright, I have no idea what I'm doing, crap. I'm screwed. _

He looks around the apartment, it's only been ten minutes since she's left and he already wants to collapse from exhaustion, and that's just from thinking about the work ahead of him.

His lips form a tight thin line, looking from the cell phone to his living room, then back to his cell phone, letting out another perceptible groan. He has to ring her. _God, there'll be no living with her after this._

He listens to the rings before the person on the other end picks up, "Denni. It's Uncle Mal… Yeah, I need your help."

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Denni's over within the hour, arms full of bags containing food and other necessities.

"Have you got her a gift yet?" she requests, not bothering with 'hello's'.

"I was just thinking of something plain, like ear rings." He confesses, helping his niece with the bags.

"Uncle Mal… Natara's ears aren't pierced." She laughs.

"How is it that you know that, and I don't?" he questions, peering into the bags to see what she bought.

"Simple. I'm female, you're male," she whacks at his hands, smirking when he looks at her like a wounded puppy, "go out and find your girlfriend a present. I'll fix everything here."

"Have I ever told you that you're the best? Because you're the best," he ruffles her hair.

"You could stand to mention it more." She pouts, swatting his hand away from her head, "now go!"

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_Three hours,_ he scowls; _it should take no man three freakin' hours, to find his girlfriend a present._ He frowns at the thought of the clerk that kept pushing gifts into his hands, saying things like, "I think this one will do," or, "what about this one, she'd like this one." Eventually though, he went with a simple little padlocked heart on a chain. He flips the little velvet box over and over in his hands, fiddling with it as he gets out of his car and walks towards his apartment.

Walking through the door, he has to do a double take, not recognising his own apartment, fairy lights and candles illuminate the room, his dining table has two chairs either side, plates already set, wine in an ice bucket, he finds a sticky note taped to the cupboard next to the oven:

_Dinner's ready, if it's cold; heat it up for 10 minutes; deserts in fridge._

_Love  
Denni  
(Who after this should be clearly considered your favourite niece.)_

Smiling, he pads towards his room, two candles on either side of the bed lit and a suit dangling from a coat hanger.

"Well… Here it goes."

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When she walks through the door, she's met with the heavy aroma of something delicious and greeted with the warm glow of candles. Dropping her keys into the dish by the door, she hesitantly walks further into the apartment.

"Mal?" she calls out.

Nothing.

"Mal, are you here?"

Silence.

She can hear fumbling from inside their bedroom, as she reaches for the doorknob, the door swings open and she's met with the dazzling blue eyes of her boyfriend.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you come in, I was still getting ready."

"What is all this?" she smiles at him, reaching up and draping her arms around his neck.

"We didn't get to celebrate our one year anniversary together."

"I told you it didn't matter," she leans her head to the side, running her fingers through the back of his hair.

"Well yeah, but according to the day time television that I've been forced to endure, when women say things don't matter, it usually means that those things matter. And considering the many ways you'd be able to mutilate, disfigure or outright kill me, I just was not willing to risk it." He smiles at her, letting her know he's only joking.

"I guess it'd be a shame to let all this hard work go to waste," she murmurs.

He chuckles, muttering against her forehead, "happy anniversary, Nat."

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**Done. Finished. No more. **

**Review. Pretty please.**


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